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Friday, May 27, 2011

You may have already realized this. I really can't take credit for a lot of my better projects because I find inspiration on my endless hours of web surfing and copy great stuff. I usually modify things a bit to be more suitable for my sewing skill level slash laziness :D

I came across this great mug rug at Froth and Bubble the other day when signing up for a billion Sew Mama Sew giveaways and immediately thought of my BFF from OD school. She's from South Dakota, and apparently they don't have cardinals (yes, the birds). She would get so excited anytime she saw one in Chicago or when she came to visit my house in central Illinois. So I changed the titmice to cardinals and I can't wait to send her this mug rug! Best part? I only used scraps! I'm planning on making one for myself too. Oh and my grandma - she loves cardinals as well. Does this look slightly Christmas-y to anyone else? Oh well - Christmas in July is coming up!

Monday, May 23, 2011

Let me introduce you to my favorite completed quilt to date. Meet Auntie Grace's Mod Sampler quilt. This is actually the first quilt I've made all by myself! I'm so proud of it :D

Carlton looks kind of creepy, no?

Last summer, my grandma and I went to the local quilt store together and browsed around. It was getting close to my birthday and she asked what I wanted while I was there. Now honestly, she comes up with some kooky gifts for me, so I just pointed to a fat quarter bundle and said, "I'd like something like that." She said great and bought it! So that's how I ended up with some of the fabric for the top. They are all reproduction 1930's fabrics (Aunt Grace, etc). That was about the time I started perusing quilting blogs and came across Oh!Fransson's site. She had just started the Mod Sampler quilt along so I jumped in and finished up the blocks in no time.

The furball loves him some fabric and aluminum foil

When I finally had all the right sashing, binding, and backing fabrics, I put it all together and daringly stippled it myself. Practice? Who needs practice? I'll practice on the real deal :) It turned out really great even if I did have to rip out the stitches in one place where I didn't pin baste enough. Another lesson learned, right?

When I went to visit my grandma at Easter, I brought the quilt with me. Of course she loves it! She even told me I could leave it with her when I went home if I wanted. We took it and showed it to all her friends too. It's a great memory I'll share with my grandma from now on!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

I had a Moda Botany charm pack that's been sitting in my drawer since December when I bought it at Burgundy Buttons on super sale. After much debate, I decided to use it in a stacked coin-type quilt and chose the Moda Bake Shop version.

Problem - it needed 2 charm packs and I only had 1. What's a girl to do? I'd been hearing a lot about Connecting Threads from the ladies in my quilt group and decided to give them a try. I bought some basic white Essential Thread (boring I know) and a couple of their solids charm packs to mix in with the Botany. The colors are very nice and I was happy to find enough matching to make it work. The fabric itself is a little more stiff and less soft than Moda (but honestly what isn't?). Everything sewed up very well and I'm pleased with how it's turning out. The thread works really well in my machine too.

I'm piecing the backing with some of the Connecting Threads yardage too, so we'll see how it all comes together and is quilted, washed, and crinkly!